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Regional Roundup

Online Help for Managing Reserve Accounts

Three valuable references for reserve account management are now available via the Internet. In the future, these guides will be maintained and revised exclusively in this electronic format.

The Reserve Maintenance Manual (revised January 2000) outlines the basics of reserve calculation and account maintenance for financial institutions that file the FR 2900 report either weekly or quarterly.

The Account Management Guide (revised June 2000) is a practical reference for managing reserve accounts. It contains descriptions and samples of the reports and information tools available through the Fed.

The Guide to Payments System Risk Policy (revised July 2000) helps institutions comply with the Fed's payments system risk policies—in particular, the use of intraday credit ("daylight overdrafts"). It includes a phone list of local Reserve Bank contact persons for credit and risk management issues.

All three references are available in Adobe PDF format on the Fed's financial services web site, www.frbservices.org/accountservices/, under the heading "Customer Reference Guides." If you have questions about these documents, contact Danee Appel of the St. Louis Fed at (314) 444-4289.

Fed Information Now Available to PDA Users

Some of the most requested information on the Fed's web site, including press releases, FOMC announcements and certain statistical reports, may now be read by wireless personal digital assistants (PDAs). PDA users can locate foreign exchange rates, selected interest rates and reports on consumer credit, industrial production and capacity utilization.

If your PDA is equipped with a modem and Internet access, you can log onto the Fed's web site using a special page for PDA users. Those who have Palm OS®-compatible PDAs can download an application file from the site onto their personal computers and then transfer that file to their PDAs.